Dear WRG, Below is something that I've been meaning to complete for some time - an extract of all of the Whitney references from: Hill, George T., "History, Records, and Recollections of Gray, Maine" (Portland, Maine: Seavey Printers, Inc., 1978) Hope it proves to be useful for someone and that there aren't too many typos! Linda Bastarache ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------- p. 62 Selectman of the Town of Gray (Hezekiah Whitney is listed at 1881, 1882, 1883, 1887, 1888) (Mrs. Leonora Whitney Sweetser is listed at 1925, 1926-1928) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------- p. 63 Men From Gray Who Were Representatives to the State Legislature Dr. Peter Whitney, 1821. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- p. 66 Doctor's Bridge - A bridge on the Underwitted Road built by Doctor Peter Whitney, whose house was on this road and who received a credit on his taxes for the work. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- p. 69 (has a picture of "The James Whitney Residence, Whitney Road, now the home of Willard Caswell.") Whitney Road - Named for James Whitney, who lived in the house now owned and occupied by Willard Caswell. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- p. 87 Heads of Families Listed by the Committees Named in 1802 to Set up Six School Districts Center District Whitney, Peter ----------------------------------------------------------------------- p. 97 Supervisors of Schools and School Committees 1860 - Hezekiah Whitney ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SERVICES Physicians ---------- p. 106 Peter Whitney, 1790's (Lived on the Underwitted Road. Built Doctor's Bridge. Moved to Gray Corner in 1803. Built the Charles Pennell place.) Stores and Shops ------------------ p. 128 "After Mr. Cobb dies, in 1895, the space that had been his confectionary store served for a number of years as Wilbert I. Whitney's barber shop." Barbers -------- p. 138 Wilbert I. Whitney, 1905-1948 Water Systems --------------- p. 139 "A good example [of a private water system] is the system that supplied water to the Hezekiah Whitney residence from a spring in Lunt's pasture. The water flowed through one-inch lead pipe to a tank in the Whitney barn. Overflow from the barn tank was piped under Brown Street to a tank in Hancock's barn, and the overflow from the Hancock barn tank fed a watering trough by the roadside outside the barn. For this last service, Mrs.Whitney was paid by the town at the rate of $2.25 a year. When the Whitney house was built over, a spring in Doughty's pasture, at a higher level, was bought..." Mail ----- p. 152 Postmasters at East Gray Postmaster Mrs. Eva Whitney Date of Appointment 1930 Location of the Post Office Gray Milling Company ----------------------------------------------------------------------- INDUSTRY p. 157 "Entries in Hezekiah Whitney's diary for January 1855 read, day after day, 'hauled naval timbers with 6 oxen.'" Name Active Years Notes ---------------- ------------- -------------------- p. 195 Masons A.S. Whitney around 1890 p. 196 Blacksmiths South Gray (in a shop near Cobb's Tavern) Orin Whitney 1880's? For a short period ----------------------------------------------------------------------- p. 236 List of Owners of Pews in the First Parish Church of Gray, Maine, in the Early 1800's Pews on the Main Floor 16. Peter Whitney ----------------------------------------------------------------------- p. 262 (Sewell Whitney, Orin F. Whitney and Emiline Whitney are listed among those who signed a petition "to call a meeting to organize a Universalist Society or Parish in the town of Gray.") ----------------------------------------------------------------------- p. 264 "Mrs. Fred Whitney and Mrs. Clifton Clark were special chairman for Gray and New Gloucester for [the building of an open air chapel]." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- GRAY GRANGE No. 41 p. 281 "On October 3, 1874, by invitation of L. B. Dennett of Portland, the following persons met in the selectman's office at Gray for the purpose of organizing a Subordinate Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry:" (Hezekiah Whitney and Mrs. Mary E. Whitney are listed) "After a few remarks by Mr. Dennett, the entire group enrolled as charter members and, through Mr. Dennett, made application to the National Grange for dispensation. The following first officers were then elected:" (among others) Overseer, Hezekiah Whitney Flora, Mrs. Mary E. Whitney p. 282 (Has a picture of "The Hezekiah Whitney Residence, East Gray.") "...Considerable interest developed in a Grange choir; and, in 1878, Brother James Whitney was chosen chorister. Under his guidance, music books were bought and many evenings were devoted to singing." p. 283 "On the 23rd and 24th of October 1925, the Grange held a fair and exercises in celebration of its fiftieth anniversary. . . . Mrs. Leonora (Whitney) Sweetser presented a history of the early days of the Gray Grange. It is from this history that the material for the foregoing summary was obtained." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- p. 284 (Has a picture of "Knights of Pythias Drill Team", including Wilbert Whitney, courtesy of Lawrence Whitney) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- p. 294 MUSIC ". . . Individuals were known as having natural pitch or a good voice, and the latter sang in the choirs, concerts, and entertainments. Among them were Pamelia Cummings, a great-aunt of Cyrus H. Curtis, who sang in the old Parish Church around 1810, and, many years later, James Whitney, George Cobb, and Emma (Merrill) Cushing." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- p. 319 "Mill stones from [Gideon Ramsdell's grist mill] may be seen in the yard of Mrs. Harland Whitney." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- p. 321-322 Willard Buxton and Leonora (Whitney) Sweetser Willard, the son of Charles S. and Hulda E. (Rowe) Sweetser, was born in North Yarmouth, Maine, on November 11, 1869. After graduating from Greely Institute in Cumberland, he attended Shaw's Business College in Portland, earning the money for his tuition by selling cigars and other items while commuting on the train. In 1890 he went to Boston where he worked for the John Hancock Life Insurance Company for five years. On March 27, 1895, he married Leonora Whitney of Gray, whom he had met while she was teaching at North Yarmouth. And, because of the poor health of his bride's parents, he gave up his work in Boston and the couple settled in Gray Corner, where they lived in the David Cummings house. Will, as he was called, ran a general store for twenty-four years, first in the brick building next to the old Town Hall and then, in partnership with Hewett Cole, in what had been the Hancock store. In 1921 he sold out his interest in the store and bought the Benjamin Shaw & Company real estate firm in Portland, but continued to live in Gray. He was town treasurer for many years, often served as moderator at town meetings, was a trustee of Pennell Institute, and was active in the Masons and the Grange. In 1937 Willard Sweetser was appointed as one of the original members of the Main Real Estate Commission and was its first chairman. He died in 1945. Leonora or Nora, as she preferred to be called, was born on August 3, 1866, the daughter of Hezekiah and Mary Ellen (Merrill) Whitney of Gray. Before her marriage and until 1899, she was a teacher. She attended Gorham Normal School, taught at Webbs Mills, North Yarmouth, and, for eleven years, in her home town at the Benson District, East Gray, North Gray, Gray Corner, and Dry Mills. Mrs. Sweetser stopped teaching to devote herself to her family. There were five children, all of whom survived and all of whom have descendants. She worked quietly for women's suffrage, served on the school committee from 1921 to 1923, and, in 1925, became the first woman to be elected as a selectman of Gray, an office that she held until 1928. She was active in the Grange and in the Festival Chorus, which often met in her home. She died in 1939. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- p. 325-326 Hezekiah and Mary Ellen Whitney Hezekiah was born in Cumberland, Maine, on October 12, 1822. He was a son of Alexander Whitney of Gorham and Barbara (Winslow) Whitney of Falmouth, who was a descendant of Kenelm Winslow, a brother of Governor Edward Winslow, of Massachusetts. In May, 1853, Hezekiah married Mary Ellen Merrill, born on August 26, 1832, the daughter of Daniel and Dorcas (Merrill) Merrill of Falmouth. Around 1855, the couple bought and settled on the Nathan Merrill place in East Gray. When Mr. Whitney's health began to fail, about 1890, they bought and moved to the David Cummings house at Gray Corner, where they lived for the remainder of their lives. Both Hezekiah and Mary Ellen were teachers in their youth. In Gray, he farmed and did some lumbering. He was active in school and civic affairs and served as selectman a number of times. Both Mr. and Mrs. Whitney were active socially, and they helped organize and were charter members of the Gray Grange, of which he served many times as Master and she served many times as Ceres. Hezekiah died in 1895 and Mary Ellen died in 1908. Sumner Whitney Sumner was born on April 9, 1857, the son of Hezekiah and Mary Ellen (Merrill) Whitney of Gray. He received his education in the Gray schools, graduating in the Gray High School class of 1875. In his youth he had become interested in the West, and he went to Colorado, where he was a miner. In August, 1898, at the request of a personal friend, a detective named Conrad, he volunteered to help the officer and was deputized to assist in the search for a holdup gang that had murdered several people in nearby towns. When Sumner and the detective entered a cabin to make inquiries, its three occupants immediately started shooting. The following is quoted from a Leadville, Colorado, newspaper: "Conrad fell at the first fire, being killed instantly. . . Whitney also fell, his left thigh being shattered and the left leg broken below the knee, and part of his ear shot away, but he continued firing. One of the robbers, Dick Bryan, fell mortally wounded. . . Whitney, though fatally wounded, continued firing mortally wounding Dick Manley, who received several bullets." Sumner was taken to the Leadville hospital where he died on September 7, 1898, as a result of his wounds. An item on the front page of a Kokomo, Colorado, newspaper dated September 9, 1898, reads: "No death in camp has caused such universal regret, no one has been mourned as Sumner Whitney. He was a prominent Mason and president of the school board, a member of the Miners Union, a member of the city council . . . In all he was a friend to poor and rich alike, and while it is not generally known, was a large contributor to all charities . . . he was greatly esteemed, not only on account of his true manliness, but for his social qualities as well." Sumner Whitney's remains were returned to Gray, and he is buried in Gray Cemetery. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- p. 335 "Shortly after incorporation [of the Gray Cemetery Association in 1911] a meeting was held and the Association elected its first officers." (Orin F. Whitney is listed on the Board of Trustees) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- MEMBERS OF THE GRAY HIGH SCHOOL CLASSES OF 1873, 1874, AND 1875 as Listed in the Program of Their First Reunion, in 1915 MALES p. 383 Whitney, Orin F., Gray, Me. Whitney, Sumner FEMALES p. 383 Libby, Ida F., Mrs. Orin F. Whitney, Gray, Me. p. 384 Whitney, Celia E., Mrs. George R. Doughty, Gray, Me. Whitney, Emma F., Mrs. J. Olmyn Mountfort, 45 Brown St., South Portland, Me. Whitney, Lizzie F., Mrs. Walter C. Dunn ----------------------------------------------------------------------- BURIAL RECORDS Name of Deceased Year of Burial Age Birthplace Parents p. 385 Blake, Abbie E. 1899 50 Gray Benjamin Whitney Percis Dolloff p. 386 Dunn, Elizabeth 1909 49 Gray Alfred Whitney Maria Libby p. 389 Whitney, Peter S. 1909 73 Raymond Thomas Whitney (of Casco) Thankfull Blessing (Earl Whitney says that his grandfather Benjamin Whitney was a brother of Peter) -----------------------------------------------------------------------